Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/270

 made of any sort of wood that will smoke well, and let them remain in the smoke house till they assume a lightish brown tint. The best way to test them is to cook one and try it. I believe there is always a market for fish done in this way. The Chinese in North Queensland will generally buy them in large quantities if good to ship to China. Two shillings per dozen is a very good price to get, even one shilling per dozen will pay well if you make your own salt, which is by no means a difficult matter. But it is not worth while shipping them North unless you have a quantity, on account of the freight to be paid. I have known of two shillings per dozen being given for large mullet and skipjacks mixed, but I never got more than one shilling myself wholesale, when I sold a little over 1200 dozen. Retail, I have got as much as four shillings per dozen for pickled fish.

Fish curing is an industry a woman can conduct entirely herself, once the fish are caught. It is not pleasant work by any means, but few women will mind that if it will pay, and there is no doubt it will if properly carried out. If she lives anywhere where there are aboriginals they may be pressed into service, at least to do the cleaning and scaling.

To preserve the roe, make a strong brine and cover the roe with it for a few days, then take them out carefully one by one on to tin plates, and dry in the hot sun. They sell at from one shilling to one shilling and sixpence per pound. There is a way of preserving the roe in oil I believe, but I have never done any quantity in that way.

Of course any kind of fish can be cured and smoked as I have described, according to the waters in which it is caught. The flap of the stingaree or stingray is excellent salted and smoked, and where one has to live mostly upon fish it is a pleasant change, as the flavour is different to any other fish. You must cut the flesh right off the bone or it will not keep. Each flap contains quite a rib work of long thin bones from which all the fish must be cut. With a sharp knife and a little care it is soon done, and then you will have quite a large piece of solid fish to salt. The young shovel-nosed shark makes a pleasant dish, also, for a change, but not after he is ten or twelve inches long, then he becomes too coarse.

To make salt from sea water you must have two pots or boilers—kerosene tins answer as well as anything; place both over the fire, filled with sea water, and as one boils down keep filling it up from the other. I boiled for three days and three nights, then when I let the water settle, I had at the bottom of the tin several pounds of good salt. The fire must be kept up all the time, night and day, if it goes out your salt will be spoiled. If you make a